Wow I knew when I first blasted a tumor whilst riding in a simulated blood steam in Anatomica that it was a very powerful tool. The fantastic news is Anatomica will now have a permanent home on the American Cancer Society’s island.

Friends Fighting Cancer media release:
“How do you fight back against something so small that even the most powerful microscopes have difficulty seeing it? How do you empower people to visualize themselves getting healthier? ”

For the 2009 Relay For Life of Second Life, Friends Fighting Cancer chose to answer these questions with a full-sim build called “Anatomica: City of the Hero Cell.” This interactive environment featured displays that introduced visitors to the lead player in the body’s immunity system; the White Blood Cell. It also personified threats to the body like bacteria, viruses and, true to the meaning of Relay For Life, cancer.

But more than just learning about these allies and threats, Anatomica gave visitors the opportunity to take the fight to cancer in a literal way. By donning protective gear and boarding a special submarine everyone who came to the site could go on patrol with the Hero Cell and use various weapons like the Chemo-Missles to destroy those threats. Bacteria couldn’t stand up to those weapons. Nor could the free-floating cancer cells or tumors that were to be found within the blood stream.

More than 6000 people visited the Relay For Life sims this year and many of them found Anatomica and spent some time fighting back. Countless survivors and caregivers now have an image in their minds of watching cancer cells explode and die. As one survivor said after spending more than an hour inside Anatomica, “That is good medicine!”

And while Relay is designed to be an overnight event, the value of Anatomica will endure long after the sims have been taken off line. Friends Fighting Cancer is proud to have been invited to install all of Anatomica as a permanent feature of ACS Island, the American Cancer Society’s headquarters in Second Life. The vision and purpose of this build will continue to help people for years to come thanks to this partnership between ACS, the RFL of SL and Friends Fighting Cancer.

If you donated time, talent or money to this year’s Relay For Life then you are part of the reason why 2009 broke all previous records. Overall, almost $275,000 USD was raised. Friends Fighting Cancer added over $11,000 USD to that total! On behalf of every one of your Friends Fighting Cancer, thank you for the gift of life and for helping to celebrate the undeniable fact that we are indeed One World with One Hope.

Stay tuned for more updates including an announcement of the Grand Re-Opening of ACS Island featuring “Anatomica; City of the Hero Cell!”
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